Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Education

At Dover Grammar School for Girls, we aim to help develop students who are independent, responsible and resilient to be well-rounded individuals in society.

At the end of their learning journey at DGGS, we want students to leave with a love and curiosity for learning while fostering essential skills like teamwork, confidence in their abilities and ability to help support those around them to have equitable experiences or outcomes. This area is exemplified by our character values, which frame our vision for students at DGGS and how to approach wider society.

These values provide our students with a framework for seeing the world around them, which embraces and supports the community, individuals around them, and themselves. Students will leave DGGS with a moral purpose rooted in mutual respect and intellectual curiosity, allowing them to approach tasks and others with compassion and courage.

Whilst we embrace these values as central tenants to being a member of the DGGS community, British Values are embedded in our lessons, personal development and enrichment opportunities. By the end of their journey at DGGS, students will have the following knowledge and understanding because of their learning and experiences:

• Understanding of how citizens can influence decision-making through democratic processes.
• Appreciate living under a rule of law that protects individual citizens and provides a sense of safety for maintaining their well-being.
• To understand how power is separated within the United Kingdom and through the executive and judiciary bodies. Once this has been achieved, students will understand the democratic processes that can be used to hold public bodies accountable.
• Understanding that everyone in society should be free to choose and hold other faiths and beliefs protected by law.
• Embracing people from different faiths and beliefs and treating them in a way that demonstrates acceptable and tolerance free from discriminatory behaviour and prejudice.
• Providing students with the skills to identify and combat discrimination.

Through these British Values, students are gaining the ability to extend their learning about key areas, which enables them to be active citizens within society.

Recent Examples of activities students have engaged in within 2023-2024 which have embodied our Character Values and British Values:

• Annual Holocaust Education Trust assemblies allow students to understand the impact prejudicial and discriminatory views can have on groups in society. These sessions are delivered to students and staff to allow our community to develop a collective sense of understanding around these events, and we could be changemakers preventing them from occurring again.
• Accessing outreach work from agencies like the Samphire Project and Emmaus allows students to understand and see the world from the perspective of individuals who may not be as privileged as them.
• 6^th Form Students completed Religious Studies hours by interacting with academics who have posed philosophical thoughts to real-world problems and allowed students to meet individuals from different faiths like the Humanist church.
• Students have engaged with various House system activities that foster community and competition. These activities allow for the demonstration and celebration of a variety of talents.
• The Modern Foreign Languages and Classics departments ran sessions that gave students the chance to explore languages through different lenses, to gain a greater insight into music and culture, and extend their knowledge further.
• Students are encouraged to elect Form Representatives and stand for leadership roles within the school to allow for them to engage with the processes that can create change within the school setting.

In our lessons and curriculum teachers role model the key character values to students allowing for SMSC to be encompassed within the lessons. The DGGS approach to SMSC delivery is seen both within our overt curriculum and hidden curriculum of the school setting. SMSC is delivered in an explicit manner through overt curriculum design giving students to delve deeper into issues relating to SMSC. Whilst the hidden curriculum encompasses all areas of school life which may not be taught through explicit lessons. This gives students to learn about material through social interactions and enrichment activities.

In our hidden curriculum the following areas contribute to students' development of their SMSC:

• VESPA Mindset activities in Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5
• Careers sessions and speakers
• PSHE and RSE lessons
• Form Time Assemblies
• Assembly Themes and Awareness Events
• Charity fundraising
• World News Wednesday
• House System
• Rewards and Sanctions behaviour policy
• Leadership opportunities
• Student council responsibilities